Alabama

Tremont subdivision celebrates rebirth with block party after April 27 storms

Tremont block party, April 27, 2012ATHENS, Alabama -- Residents of Tremont subdivision, an area that was devastated by the April 27, 2011, storms, gathered Friday for the one-year anniversary to celebrate the rebirth of their neighborhood by throwing a block party (The Huntsville Times/Sarah Cure).

ATHENS, Alabama - Standing Friday evening amid friends and families in a subdivision off Capshaw Road where most of the signature brick homes have been rebuilt, Jay Myers couldn't help but be nostalgic.

It was one year after the deadly April 27 string of tornadoes claimed lives and destroyed houses and buildings, including part of the Tremont subdivision area. Myers, along with three other neighbors, decided to remember that fateful day by focusing on how the neighborhood came together as a family in the aftermath of the storm.

So, they hosted a block party Friday in the subdivision cul-de-sac with a multi-color castle for the kids, smoked chicken, baked beans and other potluck treats.

"It's triumph over tragedy," said Myers, who was at a funeral in Gadsden with his family when he heard that their home had been destroyed in the 4:30 p.m. tornado, the same cell that struck areas that included Yarbrough Road in Harvest and Anderson Hills. "It's good to see our community come together and to hang out," he said.

"We are closer," interjected fellow organizer and resident Rhonda Bauer. "We are all alive and no one got hurt.

"We even have folks who have moved off come to the party," said Bauer, who sought shelter during the tornado with her husband and granddaughter in a closet.

With the help of Tremont residents Megan Gowan and Dean Firestone, who smoked 140 pounds of chicken, the block party doubled as a symbol of rebirth for the subdivision and its homeowners, with nearly 75 people on hand. Also, Myers and Bauer said they would like the event to become a tradition.

For Stephen McCloud, the neighborhood and its families always shared a strong bond, but now he sees his neighbors as brothers and sisters he can count on during times of hardship.

"We kid around like family," said McCloud, who had to gut his home, replace about 70 percent of its contents, and get a new roof. "We are all very close, and it's glorious to see everyone's faces here because that April day was horrible."